Department for Transport

Airports Commission

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the recommendations of the Airports Commission must go through statutory planning processes.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The remit of the Airports Commission included providing materials to support the government in preparing a national policy statement to accelerate the resolution of any future planning application(s) for major airports infrastructure. We will carefully consider the Airports Commissions final report and its recommendations when the final report is published.

Parking: Disability

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the rules regarding disabled parking spaces on private land, such as hotels and supermarkets; whether there is a minimum number of such spaces required in each case; and if so, how that number is calculated.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Blue Badge Scheme does not apply to off-street car parks, whether these are provided and managed by a local authority or privately. The Department for Transport provides guidance on the provision of parking facilities for disabled people in Section 5 of ‘Inclusive Mobility: A Guide to Best Practice on Access to Pedestrian and Transport Infrastructure’. However, it is ultimately a matter for car park operators to decide on the parking spaces that they make available to disabled motorists.

Motorcycles: Helmets

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to make the wearing of safety helmets by drivers of quad bikes compulsory.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: There are no immediate plans to make the wearing of helmets compulsory for tricycles/quad bikes but we are keeping the position under review; there are a number of factors that will need to be taken into consideration such as, the level of use, the safety of riders in a collision and the availability or otherwise of seat belts.

Ministry of Defence

VJ Day

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what commemorative events they have planned for the 70th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day.

Earl Howe: The Ministry of Defence, in collaboration with The Royal British Legion, will lead national commemorations in central London on Saturday 15 August 2015 to mark the 70th Anniversary of Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day 70). The event will begin with a special commemoration on Horse Guards Parade, attended by senior political and military representatives, veterans and their families, which will include at its heart a traditional Drumhead Service. Current members of the Armed Forces will then lead veterans and their families in a parade down Whitehall, past the Cenotaph and the statue of Field Marshal Lord Slim, who famously led the 14th Army. Further details of the VJ Day 70 programme will be announced in due course. Invitations to participate in VJ Day 70 have been issued to representatives from all declared allies of the UK, Commonwealth countries, overseas territories and Crown Dependencies. In this way, the contribution and sacrifices made during the Far East campaign by communities such as the Burmese hill tribes will be recognised on this milestone anniversary.

Type 45 Destroyers

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to fit land-attack missiles to T45 destroyers to augment the planned number of F-35B Sea Lightnings available for initial air campaign operations.

Earl Howe: The Department does not have any plans, at this time, to fit land-attack missiles to the Type 45 destroyers.

Armed Forces: Gender

Baroness Helic: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what procedures they have put in place since 2014 to increase the situational awareness of gender within the armed forces at home and on deployment.

Earl Howe: The Ministry of Defence is undertaking a number of actions aimed at increasing the situational awareness of gender within the Armed Forces. This includes incorporating gender issues into relevant Armed Forces doctrine and pre-deployment training and a wider review of gender issues in all Armed Forces training.In domestic terms, the Armed Forces undertake mandatory diversity and inclusion training on entry into service and every two years. Equality and diversity advisors are also embedded within each unit. Each service has a senior gender advocate and a servicewomen's network to improve access and opportunities for women.

Conflict Resolution: Females

Baroness Helic: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made toward establishing a senior defence working group on gender, as set out in the United Kingdom National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security.

Earl Howe: A senior-level steering board on Women, Peace, and Security (and related issues) has been established within the Ministry of Defence.

Northern Ireland Office

Stormont House Agreement

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 18 June (HL393), what is the full list of those who attended the talks leading up to the Stormont House Agreement on behalf of the government of Ireland; and who invited them.

Lord Dunlop: The Irish Government was represented at the Stormont House talks by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Charles Flanagan TD and Minister Sean Sherlock TD. The Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, and Tánaiste Joan Burton, attended along with the Prime Minister, on 11-12 December. The Irish Government attended as one of the signatories to the Belfast Agreement. As has been previously set out to the Noble Lord, their participation was in accordance with the three stranded approach to Northern Ireland affairs which the Government has a manifesto pledge to uphold.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

The Earl of Shrewsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made on the negotiations of the free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States.

Lord Maude of Horsham: Following the most recent round of negotiations for the EU-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which took place between 20 and 24 April in New York, there continues to be good progress on the technical work which would underpin the final deal. The next negotiating round is due to take place in July.

Department for Education

Children: Day Care

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many families they estimate will benefit from the proposed provision of 30 hours free childcare contained in the Childcare Bill [HL].

Lord Nash: Currently around 600,000 families in England have three or four year old children with both parents in work. This number will change over time according to employment choices and population fluctuation. The number of families taking up the extended entitlement will depend on a number of variables including parental choices and how many four year olds will be in reception classes at school.

Children: Day Care

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when an Impact Assessment for the Childcare Bill [HL] will be published.

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to publish the draft regulations to be made under the Childcare Bill [HL].

Lord Nash: Following Second Reading of the Childcare Bill on 16 June 2015, I have written to colleagues responding to points raised in the debate. This included the government’s consideration of the impact of the Childcare Bill provisions on child poverty, the Public Sector Equality Duty, the government’s Family Test, the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. A full economic impact assessment will be published when draft regulations are published for public consultation in due course. The government has also made a policy statement available to the House of Lords, setting out further details on the government’s intention behind the legislation and to aid Peers in their scrutiny of the Bill ahead of Committee Stage.

Children: Day Care

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the timetables for the consultation of parents and the funding review to ensure that childcare providers are properly reimbursed for the free places they supply, announced by Lord Nash on 16 June (HL Deb, col 1085); whether the findings will be made public; and what is their assessment of how the findings will impact on the content of the Childcare Bill [HL].

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what organisations and individuals they will consult in order to ascertain the views of parents on the contents of the Childcare Bill [HL].

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to ascertain the views of staff employed in the early years sector regarding the content of the Childcare Bill [HL].

Lord Nash: On 25 June 2015, the government made a policy statement available to the House of Lords, setting out further details on the government’s intention behind the Childcare Bill, to aid Peers in their scrutiny of the Bill ahead of Committee Stage. The government wants to engage with parents, providers and employers about how they currently access and deliver childcare and what they think are the relative priorities for an additional 15 hours of childcare. This will begin in the summer. We want to hear what is important to parents in choosing a childcare provider and their views on how the extended entitlement will best meet their childcare needs. We will make the best use of the consultation channels available, including social media and online forums and we are keen to work with employers who have a shared interest in this agenda to hear the views of their busy, working parents. Many voluntary and community sector organisations have already offered to host events for parents and providers, including groups representing and supporting disabled children and their parents, and we will be working with them to plan these events. We are also hoping to work closer with employer organisations such as the Confederation of British Industry who have welcomed the extension of the free childcare entitlement. The government has committed to increasing the average rate that providers are paid for the entitlement and the cross-government review of the cost of providing childcare is underway. The objective of the review is to inform decisions on the level of funding providers require to deliver quality childcare provision at good value to the taxpayer, and be consistent with the government’s fiscal plans.   A call for evidence to inform the review was launched on 15 June and will close on 10 August. This is part of a process of gathering the necessary evidence which will inform the outcome of the review and report in the autumn.

Affordable Childcare Select Committee (HL)

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to respond to the report of the Select Committee on Affordable Childcare.

Lord Nash: The government welcomes the work of the House of Lords Affordable Childcare Select Committee and the excellent report it produced.   As a new government, we want to consider the report in full as we develop our own childcare proposals. The government will respond to the Committee’s report in the autumn.

Children: Day Care

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which disabled children's groups they plan to consult on the impact of the Childcare Bill [HL].

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which maintained sector providers they plan to consult on the impact of the Childcare Bill [HL].

Lord Nash: On 25 June 2015, the government made a policy statement available to the House of Lords, setting out further details on the government’s intention behind the Childcare Bill, to aid Peers in their scrutiny of the Bill ahead of Committee Stage. The government wants to engage with parents, providers and employers about how they currently access and deliver childcare and what they think are the relative priorities for an additional 15 hours of childcare. This will begin in the summer. We want to hear what is important to parents in choosing a childcare provider and their views on how the extended entitlement will best meet their childcare needs. We will make the best use of the consultation channels available, including social media and online forums and we are keen to work with employers who have a shared interest in this agenda to hear the views of their busy, working parents. Many voluntary and community sector organisations have already offered to host events for parents and providers, including groups representing and supporting disabled children and their parents, and we will be working with them to plan these events. We are also hoping to work closer with employer organisations such as the Confederation of British Industry who have welcomed the extension of the free childcare entitlement.

Children: Day Care

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty’s Government who will be asked to review the conclusions of the pilot schemes for the measures to be implemented under the Childcare Bill [HL] in 2016.

Lord Nash: The government has made clear its intention to roll out the extended free childcare entitlement in certain areas from September 2016 in advance of implementation from 2017. The government is currently considering where early implementation of the extended entitlement should take place, including the number of areas and the locations to ensure geographic balance. The areas will test out the important operational details for delivering the extended entitlement and provide a source of intelligence to support the government in refining the systems to deliver the entitlement. We will announce further details in the autumn.

Children: Day Care

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to publish details of possible new criminal offences to support regulations made under the Childcare Bill [HL].

Lord Nash: Clause 1(5) (k) of the Childcare Bill enables regulations to make provision for criminal offences in connection with the provision of information and documents and disclosure of information for the purposes of eligibility checking, mentioned in paragraphs (5) (i) and (j) of the Bill only. As set out in the policy statement made available to the House of Lords on 25 June 2015, the government’s intention is that any new offences should align with existing offences for schemes involving information sharing and self-declaration. Clause 1(7) provides for a cap on the penalty that may be imposed on indictment, namely a maximum term of imprisonment of two years, with or without a fine. This is an appropriate safeguard, which might be appropriate in large scale fraud cases, or misuse of sensitive personal tax data, whilst retaining the option of imposing lesser penalties. It would be for the police and the relevant prosecuting authority to decide whether to bring a prosecution and at what level.

Ministry of Justice

Missing Persons

Baroness Hamwee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will decide the timetabling of the legislation proposed in their recent response to their consultation on the guardianship of the property and affairs of missing persons.

Lord Faulks: My Department is working to prepare the legislation necessary to create the new legal status of guardian of the property and affairs of a missing person. We are grateful for the continued assistance in this work of the charity, Missing People, and its pro bono lawyers, Clifford Chance. We will bring forward legislation when Parliamentary time allows.

Scotland Office

Sovereignty: Scotland

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what circumstances they will consent to a second referendum on Scottish independence.

Lord Dunlop: The people of Scotland voted decisively on 18 September 2014 in favour of remaining part of the United Kingdom. In September 2013, the now First Minister described the independence referendum as a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity for Scotland’. The issue of a further referendum therefore does not arise.

Department for Work and Pensions

Personal Independence Payment

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent High Court ruling regarding delays in Personal Independence Payments.

Baroness Altmann: The Court rejected two of the three legal grounds brought by the claimants, finding that their human rights had not been breached and not awarding damages. Where the Court found that the historic delay for the two claimants was unlawful, they also ruled that they are not “test cases” and it would be inappropriate to make wider findings. The Court accepted that the Government had made significant improvements to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) process and there are now no inherent failings in the system. As a result of these improvements, the average time taken for a claimant to be assessed by an assessment provider has fallen by more than three quarters since June 2014. In April 2015, the average new claimant was waiting 5 weeks for their PIP assessment – well within the 16 week target set by the Secretary of State.

Work Programme: Older People

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Work Programme in relation to its support for older people.

Lord Freud: The Work Programme is succeeding. It is helping push long-term unemployment to its lowest level in over 5 years, and is transforming people’s lives. An independent evaluation of the Work Programme published by DWP in December 2014 identified that 63.9% of older participants found Work Programme support useful in helping them find work or move closer to work, and 63.5% felt that the support offered through the Work Programme matched their needs. Since this research was carried out, we have made changes to our contracts with providers to further strengthen our performance management activities, and deliver even better outcomes for participants.  A copy of the full evaluation report has been placed in the House of Commons library.

Housing Benefit: Young People

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect of removing housing benefit from 18 to 21 year-olds.

Lord Freud: The detail of the policy will be announced in due course, and the Government will consider the impact in line with our legal obligations as part of that process.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Sheep Dipping: Organophosphates

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of how many (1) farm workers, and (2) other people, may have had their health affected by working with organophosphate sheep dipping chemicals.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Veterinary Medicines Directorate’s (VMD's) Pharmacovigilance Unit runs a voluntary scheme that encourages veterinary professionals, medical professionals and the general public to report suspected adverse reactions or treatment failures following use of veterinary medicines. Pharmaceutical companies are also legally obliged to report adverse reactions they are made aware of to the VMD within agreed timeframes and are inspected periodically to ensure compliance with this requirement.   Adverse reactions may occur in treated animals, in-contact animals, people administering the product or handling treated animals. Each report is individually reviewed before being subjected to statistical analysis to look for trends. Should a pattern of adverse events for a specific product emerge, regulatory actions to improve the safety of that product may be taken. The action taken will depend on the seriousness of the adverse events and the conditions under which they occurred.   All human reports and statistical findings are regularly reviewed by the VMD’s veterinarians, immunologists, pharmacists, toxicologists and ecotoxicologists before being considered by the Veterinary Products Committee (VPC) who provide independent advice to the VMD.   The number of reports of suspected adverse reactions in humans to organophosphate (OP) sheep dips received by the VMD each year since records began in 1985 is shown below.   It is not compulsory for reporters to provide information on the occupation of the patient but it is known that at least 83% of those affected were farm workers.   YearNumber of Reports YearNumber of Reports19858 20013198610 20022198710 20033198819 2004019899 2005019904 200601991126 200711992130 200801993167 20090199447 20100199541 20111199627 20120199732 20131199817 20140199924 2015020006 Total688 The majority (56%) of these reports have been assessed to relate to short term illness following acute exposure but since some reports describe a period of illness following each exposure over a number of years, they have been classified as chronic. Almost 50% of reports do not contain any information on whether Personal and Protective Equipment (PPE) was worn, but of those where this information is known, 82% of the reports describe PPE as being either inadequate or totally absent.   At the request of the Government, the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (the COT) considered the issue of whether prolonged or repeated low level exposure to OPs can cause chronic ill health on two separate occasions. The COT’s “Organophosphates” report of 1999 identified some gaps in the scientific knowledge.   The Government responded by commissioning the research and once it was completed referred back to the COT to seek advice on the meaning of this research.   Following a broader review of published scientific literature the COT published a statement on 13 March 2014. The COT concluded that the reviewed evidence suggests that exposures to cholinesterase-inhibiting organophosphates that are insufficient to cause overt acute poisoning do not cause important long-term neurological toxicity in adults and that if toxic effects on the nervous system do occur then they are minor and subtle.   The full COT statement and lay summary are both available on the COT website.

Common Agricultural Policy

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to seek reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy in order to boost productivity and sustainability.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Our immediate priority, over the next year, is to simplify the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Reducing the administrative burden of the CAP on farmers is a necessary part of increasing the competitiveness of our food and farming sector.   We have pushed hard in the EU for reforms such as a review of the greening rules which place unnecessary burdens on farmers for limited environmental benefits. There is an opportunity to deliver some reforms to the CAP as part of the Commission’s CAP simplification programme.

Food: Exports

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much of the total food and drink exported from the United Kingdom in each year since 2000 was to countries that are members of the European Union or party to an EU Free Trade Agreement.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Below is a table showing total food and drink exports from the UK from 2000 to 2014. Included are the percentages of total UK exports each year that are exported to EU countries and EU Free Trade Association countries.  YearTotal food and drink exports from the UK (£000s)Percentage of UK food and drink exports to EU countriesPercentage of UK food and drink exports to EU Free Trade Association countries20008,378,28762%2%20018,214,28262%2%20028,603,87264%2%20039,550,91365%2%20049,386,71265%2%20059,626,61265%2%200610,141,04866%2%200710,976,47367%1%200812,711,88968%2%200913,445,21068%2%201015,194,26465%2%201117,455,36763%2%201217,347,31661%2%201317,956,54260%2%201417,915,03160%2%   Data source: HM Revenue and Customs   Data prepared by: Defra Trade Statistics team

Food: Labelling

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of food labelling in the United Kingdom.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The regulations governing food labelling are largely set at EU level, establishing common rules in support of the operation of the single market. These Regulations were reviewed in depth resulting, in 2011, in the Regulation on the Provision of Food Information to Consumers (1169/2011). The UK took the opportunity of this review to press for better country of origin labelling for meat. The new rules on mandatory country of origin labelling for fresh and frozen meat came into force on 1 April 2015. The Government is continuing to press the European Commission to consider extending country of origin labelling to other types of food where there is consumer demand, particularly for key dairy products. We took the opportunity of this revision of EU Regulations to simplify our domestic regulations, reducing them in number and reducing their overall burden, including by adopting derogations from the EU Regulations where considered advantageous for the UK. Defra is also undertaking a research study to evaluate the impact of the Food Information Regulations, looking in particular at how consumers respond to the level and type of information provided to them on food labels. Legislation on foods for specific groups such as baby food is also being reviewed to simplify and reduce the regulatory burden, with national legislation implementing EU rules expected to be in place from July 2016. An assessment of the balance of competences between the EU and the UK for nutrition and food labelling was completed in 2013.   The impact of the Department of Health’s Responsibility Deal has been assessed, including national voluntary agreements in nutrition labelling, such as front of pack labelling. EU Legislation on nutrition and health claims made on food has been assessed and an evaluation of the impact of the legislation, in particular on the evolution of the market in foods for which nutrition or health claims are made, is being carried out.

Agriculture: Chemicals

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that any proposals by the European Commission to ban an agricultural chemical are supported by full science-based risk analysis rather than the precautionary principle.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Government agrees that decisions on the approval of pesticides should be based firmly on a scientific risk assessment. We take this position in EU negotiations on individual pesticide chemicals.   The European Commission is due to review the rules for pesticide approval. The Government will make the case for changes that ensure that the legislation protects people and the environment on the basis of scientific evidence, without placing unwarranted barriers in the way of pesticide approval.   The European Commission’s Communication on application of the precautionary principle makes it clear that decisions should be based on the best possible scientific risk assessment and should be proportionate to the risk to be addressed. The Government supports this approach. We would not agree with the use of the term “precautionary principle” as cover for advocating a regulatory approach which is not backed by the scientific evidence.

Home Office

Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to receive the results of their investigations into the matters raised by the Channel 4 News programme on Yarl's Wood shown on 2 March; and whether they plan to publish those results.

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to receive the independent review of the welfare of detainees in immigration removal centres; and whether they plan to publish that review.

Lord Bates: The Home Office has been working closely with Serco, the supplier at Yarl’s Wood, to address the matters raised by Channel 4 News.They have demonstrated their shared commitment to ensuring the dignity and welfare of detainees at the centre with the action they have taken to address the concerns raised in the programme and have made good progress in delivering against our agreed action plan. Serco have commissioned their own independent review of the culture and staffing at Yarl’s Wood led by Kate Lampard, which is expected to report in the autumn.The welfare in detention review, commissioned by the Home Secretary in February 2015, which is being led by Stephen Shaw, former prisons and probation ombudsman, is expected to report in September. The review has been asked to prioritise an assessment of conditions at Yarl’s Wood within the broader review of detention performance and policies. Ministers will publish the report by laying it before Parliament, alongside the Government’s response to the recommendations.

Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will continue to provide religious and spiritual support for the detainees at Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre.

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of whether MITIE has provided adequate amounts of food to Muslim detainees at Harmondsworth and Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centres during the month of Ramadan and at the time of sunset.

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have approved the withdrawal of religious support for detainees at Harmondsworth and Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centres.

Lord Bates: The provision of religious and spiritual support for detainees in immigration removal centres (IRC) is a statutory requirement of the Detention Centre Rules 2001, IRC Operating Standards and is a contractual or service level specification for all centre operators. These provisions have not and will not be withdrawn at any centre.Arrangements for the observance of Ramadan are in place at all IRCs. This includes special catering arrangements to allow the breaking of the fast at the prescribed time. The Home Office is consulted about the arrangements to ensure that they are appropriate.There have been no complaints about the amount of food provided at the Heathrow centres and catering provision will be monitored during Ramadan as it is throughout the year.

Immigration: Detention Centres

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the standard of the services provided by the private outsourcing group MITIE at Harmondsworth and Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centres.

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the hygiene and stability of conditions of the Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre; and what actions, if any, they have taken to ensure the hygiene and stability of the Centre.

Lord Bates: All immigration removal centres operated by the private sector, including Harmondsworth and Colnbrook, have their contracts managed by a central commercial team. The Home Office also has staff based in each centre to monitor contract delivery and compliance.The current level of services provided, including hygiene, is consistent, compliant with relevant standards and is considered by the Home Office to be satisfactory. Meetings take place with the contractor, on a weekly, monthly and quarterly basis (at a more senior level) where any issues will be addressed.Moreover, on 9 February the Home Secretary announced an independent review of detainee welfare in immigration detention, led by the former prisons ombudsman Stephen Shaw. The review is expected to report in September and will seek to identify whether improvements can be made to safeguard the health and wellbeing of detainees across the immigration detention estate, short term holding facilities, and those being escorted in the UK. The Government will publish the report by laying it before Parliament, alongside the Government’s response to the recommendations.

Diplomatic Service: Documents

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the legal responsibilities are under United Kingdom law of consulates of other countries for the care and protection of United Kingdom citizens’ documents which are submitted to them for visa and other purposes; whether, in cases where documents are retained by consulates for periods well beyond those which those consulates have announced to be normal and expected, United Kingdom citizens have any formal right to request or require return of their documents; and whether in cases where, after a period which clearly exceeds the normal and expected time for return, the return of documents is requested but not honoured, HM Passport Office will accept that documents have been lost for the purposes of requesting a replacement passport.

Lord Bates: It is a matter for individual foreign diplomatic missions how they run their visa operations in the UK. The British passport remains the property of the Crown at all times and HM Passport Office (HMPO) has the right to require the return of the passport at any time.HMPO will not consider the issue of a replacement passport if it is known that the passport is being held by a foreign diplomatic mission for the purposes of considering a visa application. It is open to a visa applicant to withdraw their application at any time and seek return of any supporting documents they have provided.

British Nationality: English Language

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why only the examinations offered by the International English Language Testing System and Trinity College London were deemed suitable for English language tests used for applications for citizenship.

Lord Bates: Following significant abuse identified in the provision of English language testing the Home Office commissioned an independent review. A key outcome was the need to develop new and robust business and commercial requirements. A competitive procurement exercise secured two Concession Service Providers for the UK, Trinity and IELTS SELT Consortium and one Concession Service Provider overseas, IELTS SELT Consortium. Both Concession Service Providers met the new business and commercial requirements of the Concession Agreements.

British Nationality: English Language

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what risk assessment they have undertaken regarding the decision to appoint only two examination boards for English language tests used for applications for citizenship.

Lord Bates: The decision to appoint two Concession Service Providers was based on the market’s ability to meet the Home Office’s business and commercial requirements. Two Concession Service Providers were able to meet both the new examination centre control measures and geographic coverage in the UK and Overseas. The new Concession Agreements have improved both control and coverage requirements compared to previous arrangements.

Developing Countries: Drugs

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether their provision of aid for drug control in countries such as Iran and Pakistan is proving effective in reducing harm, and of whether there is a contradiction between their policy on this issue and their policies on eliminating the use of the death penalty.

Lord Bates: The Government provides counter-narcotics assistance to a range of countries. We do so to tackle the international drugs trade and minimise the threat it poses to the UK and its citizens. To ensure that we remain consistent with our human rights principles all Government Departments must adhere to the Overseas Security & Justice Assistance (OSJA) Guidance. This enables a comprehensive and ongoing assessment of the human rights risks attached to international activity.In March 2015, when Pakistan lifted the moratorium on the use of the death penalty, the Government reviewed its security engagement. All of our programmes in Pakistan continue to be conducted in full accordance with the OSJA guidance. The UK does not currently provide financial assistance for counter-narcotics programmes in Iran. We stopped provided financial assistance to UNODC programmes in Iran in 2007, and ended our bilateral cooperation with Iran on these issues in 2009.The Government strongly opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances. UK Ministers have and will continue to urge countries, including Iran and Pakistan, to repeal the death penalty and take action to ensure human rights are safeguarded.

Airguns

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review the law relating to the purchase and possession of air guns in England, in the light of the increasing number of shootings of cats being recorded by the RSPCA.

Lord Bates: There are currently no plans to review the laws in place for the purchase and possession of air weapons. Animal cruelty is abhorrent. It is already an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to an animal, and all such incidents should be reported to the police who have the necessary powers to investigate.

Metropolitan Police

Lord Harris of Haringey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Home Secretary expects to decide whether to authorise the Metropolitan Police to use, under appropriate operational circumstances, the water cannons that the Mayor of London has purchased; and whether this decision will be made before the water cannons become usable.

Lord Bates: A key element of the established process for the approval of less lethal weapons, including water cannon, is an assessment by the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal weapons. This has only recently been received. There are a number of scientific, medical, operational and ethical issues which need careful consideration.The authorisation process states: “only less lethal weapons that have been approved by the Secretary of State may be used by the UK police service.” The Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime and the Metropolitan Police have stated that the water cannon would not be used until, and unless, they are authorised for use by the Home Secretary.

HM Treasury

NHS: VAT

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much was paid in 2013–14 to compensate the National Health Service for irrecoverable VAT.

Lord Bridges of Headley: It is not possible to isolate the tax component from the overall funding for healthcare. However, VAT refunded to the NHS Trusts and Health Authorities by virtue of section 41(3) of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 is estimated at £1.9 billion in 2013/14. The figure was similar in 2010.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Climate Change

The Lord Bishop of Salisbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to address the issue of climate finance at the forthcoming United Nations Climate Change conference in Paris; and whether they plan to commit the United Kingdom to budgeting for climate finance arrangements up to 2020.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The Prime Minister, with other G7 leaders, recently reaffirmed their commitment to jointly mobilise USD $100 billion of climate finance a year by 2020 from a wide variety of sources, both public and private, and that they stand ready to engage proactively in the negotiations of the finance provisions of the Paris outcome. The UK has a strong track record on climate finance and is meeting its commitments, for example committing £3.87bn through the International Climate Fund (ICF) in this spending review period. Climate finance commitments beyond 2015/16 will be determined through the forthcoming Spending Review process.

Cabinet Office

Honours

Lord Jopling: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 10 July 2014 (HL828), whether they will update the table to reflect all honours lists since the New Year Honours List 2012, including the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2015, and (2) give details of the percentage of those who were styled professor.

Lord Bridges of Headley: 19% of all Honours recipients at the level of Knight, Dame, CB and CBE from Birthday Honours 2012, and up to and including Birthday Honours 2015, have styled themselves Professor.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Change of Use

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether permitted development rights on the conversion of offices to residential premises, due to expire in May 2016, are to be extended beyond that date.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: I refer the noble Lord to the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 March 2015, HLWS487, where we made it clear that we would keep under review the case for extending the office to residential permitted development rights, which are helping provide much needed new homes on brownfield land. This remains the case.

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Loans: Advertising

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice with its review of the scheduling of televised advertisements for payday loans.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the finding by the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice that payday loan advertisements are not aimed at encouraging children to ask their parents to take out a loan, and whether they plan to consult parents, psychologists and educationalists working with children about this issue.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government is concerned about consumer detriment in the payday loan market, and agrees it is important that consumers are protected from unfair costs. We therefore legislated to require the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) to introduce a cap on the cost of payday loans, which came into force on the 2nd January this year.We believe BCAP's review of payday loan advertising provides a good evidence base to ensure that consumers are protected from harm in the payday lending market. We welcome the revised guidance to advertisers produced in response to this review, to help ensure that both adults and children are protected, together with BCAPs' public consultation on scheduling to be launched by the end of July. There are no plans to carry out a separate Government consultation on this matter.

FIFA

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions have taken place between ministers or officials of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and officials of the English Football Association regarding the continued full recognition of the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland Football Associations within FIFA.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Department has not engaged in any discussions with the English Football Association on this subject. Sport is not only a devolved matter, but it is also for the football associations in each of the home nations to maintain their own relationships with FIFA, and in particular with regard to their independent status in world football.

S4C

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the current level of direct funding of S4C by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will be retained in the new licence period irrespective of the outcome of discussions concerning the renewal of the BBC's Charter.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government are committed to Welsh language programming and to the future of S4C. The level of all exchequer funding for public bodies will be a matter for the Spending Review, which has yet to begin.

Department of Health

Malaria: Drugs

Baroness Corston: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice they have received from Public Health England on Lariam (mefloquine), in particular in relation to members of the armed forces serving in Afghanistan.

Baroness Corston: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the warning issued by Roche, the manufacturer of Lariam (mefloquine), in October 2013 that the drug "may induce potentially serious neuropsychiatric disorders".

Baroness Corston: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the decision taken by the United States Special Forces to ban the use of Lariam (mefloquine) for malaria prophylaxis.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Lariam (mefloquine), is an extremely effective antimalarial and is one of a number of antimalarials for travellers currently recommended by the Advisory Committee on Malaria Prevention (ACMP), an expert advisory committee of Public Health England (PHE) established in 1998 to formulate evidence-based guidelines on malaria prevention in the United Kingdom.   The use of mefloquine, for travellers, including military personnel, to high risk areas should be based on an individual risk assessment that takes into consideration the destination of travel, planned activities while travelling and the individual’s current health and medical history.   The ACMP regularly reviews data on safety and efficacy of all antimalarials. Whenever new evidence about antimalarials appears the ACMP considers this as part of its continuous process of developing advice.   The ACMP will be meeting in summer 2015 to finalise the 2015 revision of the ACMP guidelines. This meeting will review current evidence on the use of mefloquine, including data provided by Roche, and recommendations made by other countries including the United States with regard to the use of mefloquine for malaria prevention.

Tuberculosis

Baroness Suttie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the recommendations of the most recent collaborative tuberculosis strategy for England, what criteria they plan to use to determine who should be screened and treated for latent tuberculosis.

Lord Prior of Brampton: When implemented, the systematic latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) testing and treatment programme for recent migrants will have the following eligibility criteria:   a) Born or spent more than six months in high TB incidence country (150 cases per 100,000 or more/Sub-Saharan Africa); b) Entered the United Kingdom within the last five years (including where entry was via other countries (e.g within European Union/European Economic Area); c) Aged 16-35 years; d) No history of TB either treated or untreated; and e) Never screened for TB in UK.   In addition to this, The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends LTBI testing for other groups at higher risk of infection, such as close contacts of active TB cases or individuals who are immunocompromised. The decision to screen and treat these persons is usually made on an individual patient basis and funding is available through local arrangements.